More User Reviews:

Nice to have this annual again today.Poured a deep roasted chesnut brown with a tinge of ruby,very little head to speak of.Some graham cracker and ginger notes in the nose along with some woodiness and roast,pretty light.The feel was pretty sharp and fizzy,a little rough in the mouth.Flavors of vanilla and brown sugar mainly with a drying woodiness in the finish.It's not bad but for me a notch down from past OSA's,I will keep buying them every year though.

A: A very dark brown with excellent clarity and a deep garnet hue. The persistent, medium-tan head is velvety and rocky at the same time leaving sticky lacing on the glass

S: The aroma is like spiced fruit with a fair amount of spice and pine dominating; a ginger note and cloves being the strongest smells. There is some allspice and a caramel malt a medium level. Some esters of prunes come through.

T: Malty but not sweet with the spice and citrus hops being about on par. The spice has some ginger and clove to it like in the aroma with an allspice flavor coming though towards the end. The balance is somewhat bitter and spicy. The finish is off-dry with a spice aftertaste.

M: A surprisingly medium-light body with moderately-low carbonation. There is a slight astringency from the spice addition but not unpleasant.

O: If you want to enjoy a spiced beer pick up an "Our Special Ale" The spice dominates but toes over power. I look forward to a couple of these every holiday season. Pairs wile with a fruit or pumpkin pie.

Smell: Uh, smells like a pumpkin beer. Haven't really thought that in previous years. Still that stale Porter smell underneath.

Taste: Stale, dry chocolate Porter upfront, which is overtaken by spices that once again seem very pumpkin like. I am even getting that nutty and sweet mixture I get from pumpkin. Finishes with dry chocolate.

Feel: Moderate carbonation, with a body that is slightly thinner than I would like. But the very dry finish improves the feel a lot.

Overall: Not up to par with recent releases, but still very tasty and easy to drink.

Our Special Ale 2012 opens to a spicy, fruity, sweet nose that is instantly reminiscent of fruitcake and mulled wine. Nutmeg, clove, allspice, candied ginger, and pepper are immediately noticeable, as well as slight hints of coriander. The fruits are, on the one hand, dark and complex, with dates, green maraschino cherries, and figs, and on the other, bring nice orange peel, lemon zest, and pink grapefruit overtones. All of these rest atop thick brown breads, vanilla, molasses, wildflower honey, and a lovely Christmas layer of fresh pine needles. Add to this a slightly alcoholic touch, as of mulled wine or white port, and the result is a tantalizing aroma that would make for a world-class candle scent, and in a beer, is exactly the sort of aroma one would want while opening presents. The aromas do seem to be somewhat lighter than those in previous years’ editions, but here that’s a good thing, since at least one of the previous bottles smelled so strongly of pine needles as to be overwhelming.

On the tongue, the beer begins with a spicy kick, the cloves, nutmeg, candied ginger, allspice, and pepper instantly blasting away at the tastebuds, joined by molasses and thick brown breads, as well as deeply roasted pecans and pine needles. The fruits come in a somewhat distant second, the green maraschino cherries and dates primarily, with touches of raisin next, and the orange and lemon zest second. The effect is less fruitcake here than spicecake, and the spices do unfortunately rather overwhelm everything else, and are even more potent in subsequent mouthfuls. The aftertaste is similarly dominated by spice, with remnants of brown breads, molasses, and lemon zest, and lingers on the tongue for a very long time. Mouthfeel is medium, and carbonation is medium to medium-high, fizzing on the tongue and burning the soft tissues.

Overall, this is good Christmas beer, it’s just unfortunate that the spices were so dominant, as they detracted from what was a very nice fruit and dark bread belly. The beer is by no means unpalatable, but it is strongly spiced enough that it would be difficult to drink too many in a row.

pours out nearly black, but is actually a really dark ruby brown color. about one fingers worth of tannish colored head off the pour that eventually settles to a ring and some patchy foam, decent head retention. tiny bits of lace.

not too big of an aroma, but whats there is pretty interesting. a nice cherry aroma seems to be at the forefront with slightly muted holiday spices such as nutmeg, cardamom and cinnamon following. pine as well with slight hints of anise.

again, not too big of a taste. i feel like past years were slightly more flavorful. holiday spices all around with sweet toasted malt, a bit of pine and bitterness (hops?), and cherry in the finish.

the mouthfeel may have been the biggest letdown of this years vintage. it seems lighter than i remember and the carbonation is just a touch high. also just a hint of tartness is apparent every other sip.

i remember past years being better, and never seemed to notice cherry flavors in any of them, but some nice flavors come together and make for a drinkable, enjoyable beer that ill continue to buy every year to drink and to keep the vertical going.

Appearance: Pours a dark brownish black with a little ruby color. Lots of rising bubbles and a huge five finger light tan head with decent retention. Leaves a lot of creamy lacing around the glass.

Smell: A toasty malt driven aroma with a lot of Holiday spicing. Upfront is a big scent of spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. Roasted malts with hints of chocolate, burnt caramel, toffee, nuts, yeast, and a slight hint of coffee. A moderate amount of brown sugar adds to the sweetness. Subtle hints of dark fruit including prune, raisin, and dates. Good presence of earthy hops with hints of pine and grass. Pretty solid aroma.

Taste: Like the smell hints, a nicely roasty and spicy taste with a good dose of earthy piney hops. Lots of spicing with a taste of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. Dark roasted malts with notes of burnt caramel, toffee, bitter chocolate, toast, coffee, nuts, and yeast. Light presence of brown sugar. A little bit of subtle dark raisin, prune, and date. Solid hop notes that provide some drying bitterness. Earthy pine and some grass. A good and well balanced taste.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Very creamy, slick, and smooth.

Overall: Another good version of this Holiday ale. Nice taste of roast, spice, and hops.

A 355ml bottle with a BB of July 2014. Picked up recently from Trembling Madness in York. As always with the Anchor Xmas brew, I love the label art.

Poured into a Duvel tulip. A dark reddish-brown hue with medium carbonation (darker than previous incarnations IIRC). Produces a huge head of creamy beige foam with good retention; this slowly reduces to a surface layer. Aroma of caramel malt with hints of brown sugar, dried fruit, cinnamon, clove, spice, mild pine and stewed hops. Herbal and earthy; the spice is a touch overdone and lends it a bitter background note. But it's certainly seasonal!

Tastes of caramel malt with a distinctly spicy character and a dry, bitter finish. Notes of brown sugar, dried fruit, mild roasted malt, cinnamon, clove, spice, herbs, mild pine and stewed leaves. The spice comes on a bit strong and dominates the flavour, while also giving it a harsh, herbal quality. A dry bitterness upon swallowing. Mouthfeel is smooth, tingly and dry, but rather thin and watery. The spices also result in an unusually astringent sensation on the palate. An aftertaste of spice, bitter herbs and caramel malt.

An OK brew but not great, and not as good as in previous years. The spice is just a bit too strong, as if someone went overboard with the exotic ingredients. The aroma is quite nice, but the flavour is unbalanced and has an acrid herbal quality to it. The body also leaves something to be desired - it's too thin for the strength and flavour. I'm glad I tried this but I wouldn't have it again. No need to seek it out.